Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for COVID-19

Some patients with COVID-19 and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) develop refractory hypoxemia that warrants consideration of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Investigators examined records (from a registry of 213 international ECMO-referral hospitals) of nearly 800 patients (median age, 49) with COVID-19 and ARDS supported by venovenous ECMO. Three quarters of patients were men, 40% were Black or Hispanic, and obesity and diabetes were common. The average partial pressure of oxygen to fraction of inspired oxygen (PaO₂:FiO₂) was 72 before cannulation, with median pre-ECMO mechanical ventilation duration of 4 days.

At 90 days, one third of patients had been discharged home or to acute rehabilitation, 10% had been discharge…